Anaerobic bioreactor for the wastewater-treatment plant

ABSTRACT

The present invention relates to an apparatus for treating wastewater comprising aerobic microbes and an upflow anaerobic reactor in which the wastewater including various substances such as non-degradable and toxic materials and organic substances could be decomposed biologically. Anaerobic bio-reaction effect could be maximized by maintaining uniformity of inflowing wastewater and recycle sludge or by deferring the heights of inlets.

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present invention relates to an apparatus for treatingwastewater including an upflow anaerobic reactor. More particularly, inthe anaerobic reactor including aerobic microbes and an upflow anaerobicreactor, outflow tubes of wastewater and returning sludge is introducedby rotating and depending upon occasions, the introduction heights ofthe wastewater and the returning sludge is differentiated to obtainmaximum effects of the anaerobic reaction.

BACKGROUND ART

[0002] In Korean Laid-open Patent No. 2000-31978, the inventors of thepresent invention have disclosed the apparatus for treating wastewatercomprising aerobic microbes and an upflow anaerobic reactor and themethod therefor. The apparatus can treat organic wastewater containingindecomposable and toxic substances, nutritive materials (N, P) andheavy metals, and maintain high concentration of sludge stably andeconomically. As a reference, the conventional technique is described inFIG. 1a and FIG. 1b.

[0003] As illustrated in FIG. 1a, the conventional apparatus comprisesan anaerobic tank, an aerobic tank and a precipitate tank. Concretely,the fixed porous inflow device is installed on the lower portion of theanaerobic tank. Wastewater and returning sludge flow into the inflowdevice through an inject portion. FIG. 1b depicts a planar view of theinflow device schematically.

[0004] In the conventional method, the returning sludge returned by areturn pump is injected to the anaerobic reactor through the injectportion and the inflow device and then stirred continuously by a mixingdevice so that a biased stream of sludge flowing upward and a blockingcircuit phenomenon of an inflow mixture are prevented. However, thereare some problems in the conventional technique. Precisely, since theinflow device is fixed and the wastewater or the returning sludge isalways thrown onto a fixed region, the concentrations of the wastewaterand the sludge are not maintained uniformly and the biased current isnot prevented sufficiently even though the mixing device is operated.

DISCLOSURE OF INVENTION

[0005] In order to settle the disadvantages of the conventional methoddescribed above, the object of the present invention is to provide anapparatus for treating wastewater comprising an anaerobic reactor inwhich a wastewater outflow tube 6 a and a returning sludge outflow tube6 b rotate on the axis so that the wastewater and the returning sludgeare discharged uniformly from the constant surface of the anaerobicreactor when the wastewater and the returning sludge are injected to theanaerobic reactor.

[0006] In the first type of the present invention, the upflow anaerobicreactor 1 for treating wastewater comprises a principal axis 2 which isformed vertically in the center of the anaerobic reactor 1 and rotatesin accordance with a driving force transferred from a driving means; awastewater inflow tube 3 and a returning sludge inflow tube 4 which areinstalled in an outer and upper portion of the anaerobic reactor 1 andthrough which wastewater and returning sludge are injected respectively;a retentive portion 5 which is installed and fixed on the uppercircumference of the principal axis 2, rotates with the principal axis 2and through which the wastewater and the returning sludge injected fromthe ends of the wastewater inflow tube 3 and the returning sludge inflowtube 5 pass; a single or multiple outflow tubes 6 which are installedand fixed onto the principal axis 2 so as to rotate with the principalaxis 2 and have one end connected with the retentive portion 5, theother end installed in the inner and lower portion of the anaerobicreactor 1 and equipped with a porous tube which discharges a mixture ofthe wastewater and the returning sludge; an outflow device 7 which isinstalled onto an upper portion of the anaerobic reactor 1 and has aware structure in order to discharge reaction water containing somesludge through the aerobic reactor 20; and a sludge condensing device 8which is installed onto a lower portion of the anaerobic reactor 1 andtreats the sludge precipitated in the central lower portion of theanaerobic reactor 1 by using a gravitational force.

[0007] The present invention will now be described with references tothe accompanying drawings.

[0008] The upflow anaerobic reactor 1 of the present invention, a typeof the upper portion inflow type, will be illustrated more clearly,referring to FIG. 2a and FIG. 2b.

[0009] Above all, the anaerobic reactor 1 of the present inventioncomprises a principal axis 2, a wastewater inflow tube 3, a returningsludge inflow tube 4, a retentive portion 5, an outflow tube 6, anoutflow device 7 and a sludge condensing device 8 as described above.

[0010] The principal axis 2 is connected to and fixed to the retentiveportion 5 and the outflow tube 6 and is formed perpendicular to thecenter of the anaerobic reactor 1 so as to rotate together by using adriving force of the principal axis motor M.

[0011] The wastewater inflow tube 3 and the returning sludge inflow tube4 are installed onto the outer and upper portion in order to inject theinflow water and the returning sludge flowing back from the finalprecipitate tank to the anaerobic reactor 1 by using a driving force ofthe sludge return pump respectively. The wastewater inflow tube 3 andthe returning sludge inflow tube 4 can be injected to the inside of theanaerobic reactor 1 independently as depicted in FIG. 2a and FIG. 2b,but they also can be combined to form one tube in the outside of theanaerobic reactor 1 and injected to the retentive portion 5 in a mixedstate of the returning sludge to remove inflow water, organic chemicalswithin the inflow water, nutritive salts and the like (not depicted).

[0012] Next, the wastewater and the returning sludge introduced from theends of the wastewater inflow tube 3 and the returning sludge inflowtube 4 are transferred through the retentive portion 5. The retentiveportion 5 is also installed and fixed on the upper circumference of theprincipal axis 2 and rotates according to the rotation of the principalaxis 2. The wastewater and the returning sludge are mixed in theretentive portion 5. The retentive portion 5 can be shorten to placeonly the upper portion of the principal axis 2 (See FIG. 2a) as well ascan be extended from the upper portion of the anaerobic reactor 1 to thelower portion of the principal axis 2 (See FIG. 2b).

[0013] The outflow tube 6 is connected with the retentive portion 5directly, installed on the lower portion within the anaerobic reactor 1and can make the inflow water and the returning sludge passing throughthe retentive portion 5 inlet to the lower portion within the anaerobicreactor 1. The inflow water and the returning sludge are dischargedthrough the porous tube which is installed in a surface of the outflowtube 6.

[0014] The outflow device 7 is installed on the upper portion of theanaerobic reactor 1 and has a ware structure in which the reaction watercontaining some sludge matured sufficiently in the process of theanaerobic reactor 1 is discharged through the aerobic reactor 20.Preferably, the outflow device 7 which prevents the block phenomenoncaused by the sludge and makes the outflow water discharged uniformlyhas a ware structure which is installed in a radiation mode from thecenter as disclosed in Korean Laid-open Patent No. 2000-31978.

[0015] As another the upper portion inflow type of the anaerobic reactor1, the present invention provides an anaerobic reactor 1 which adopts amode that the inflow water and the returning sludge are not blended andare discharged to the lower portion in the reactor independently. Thepresent invention will be described more clearly, referring to FIG. 3aand FIG. 3b.

[0016] In this type, the wastewater inflow tube 3 and the returningsludge inflow tube 4 which can inlet the wastewater and the returningsludge respectively are installed in the outer and upper portion of theanaerobic reactor 1 independently. In addition, the wastewater retentiveportion 5 a passing through the wastewater and the sludge retentiveportion 5 b passing through the returning sludge are installed andseparated spatially and the wastewater outflow tube 6 a, 6 dischargingthe wastewater are connected directly to the wastewater retentiveportion 5 a and the sludge outflow tube 6 b, 6 discharging the returningsludge are connected directly to the sludge retentive portionrespectively. The wastewater retentive portion 5 a and the sludgeretentive portion 5 b (thus, the wastewater outflow tube 6 a, 6 and thesludge outflow tube 6 b, 6 also) are installed and fixed on the uppercircumference of the principal axis 2 and rotate together according tothe rotation of the principal axis 2.

[0017] On the other hand, the wastewater inflow tube 3 and the returningsludge inflow tube 4 are fixed on the reactor not to be moved orrotated, but the wastewater retentive portion 5 a and the sludgeretentive portion 5 b rotate with the principal axis 2. Therefore, intheir composition, the wastewater should be injected from the wastewaterinflow tube 3 to the wastewater retentive portion 5 a and the returningsludge should be injected from the returning sludge inflow tube 4 to thesludge retentive portion 5 b. For this purpose, one portion selected inbetween the wastewater retentive portion 5 a and the sludge retentiveportion 5 b is included to the other portion preferably as illustratedin FIG. 4. The wastewater retentive portion 5 a and the sludge retentiveportion 5 b can be shorten in the length so that only the upper portionof the principal axis 2 is placed (See FIG. 3a) and can be extended fromthe upper portion of the anaerobic reactor 1 to the lower portion of theprincipal axis 2 (See FIG. 3b).

[0018] Like the outflow tube 6 in the first type of the presentinvention described above, the wastewater outflow tube 6 a, 6 and thesludge outflow tube 6 b, 6 are connected directly with the wastewaterretentive portion 5 a and the sludge retentive portion 5 b in one endsrespectively and the other ends are placed on the inner and lowerportion of the anaerobic reactor 1. At the other ends, the porous tubesare formed so as to discharge the wastewater and the returning sludge.

[0019] The second type of the present invention comprises a principalaxis 2, an outflow device 7, a sludge condensing device 8 and the like,which are common in the structure and the functions with the first type.

[0020] In addition, the upflow anaerobic reactor 1 for treatingwastewater for applying the second type of the present inventioncomprises a principal axis 2 which is formed vertically in the center ofthe anaerobic reactor 1 and rotates according to a driving forcetransferred by a driving means; a wastewater inflow tube 3 and areturning sludge inflow tube 4 which are installed onto the outer andupper portion of the anaerobic reactor 1 and through which thewastewater and the returning sludge are injected respectively; aretentive portion 5 which is installed and fixed on the lowercircumference of the principal axis 2, rotates with the principal axis2, is connected directly with the wastewater inflow tube 3 and thereturning sludge inflow tube 4 and through which the wastewater and thereturning sludge pass; a single or multiple outflow tubes 6 which areinstalled and fixed onto the principal axis 2, rotate with the principalaxis 2, have one end connected with the retentive portion 5 directly,the other end installed on the inner and lower portion of the anaerobicreactor 1 and equipped with a porous tube which discharges a mixture ofthe wastewater and the returning sludge; an outflow device 7 which isinstalled onto the upper portion of the anaerobic reactor 1 and has aware structure in order to discharge reaction water containing somesludge through the aerobic reactor 20; and a sludge condensing device 8which is installed onto the lower portion of the anaerobic reactor 1 andtreats the sludge precipitated in the central lower portion of theanaerobic reactor 1 by using a gravitational force.

[0021] As a lower portion inflow type, the present invention providesthe anaerobic reactor 1 in which the inflow water and the returningsludge are injected from the lower portion of the anaerobic reactor 1.This type will be described more clearly, referring to FIG. 5a and FIG.5b.

[0022] Above all, the upflow anaerobic reactor 1 like the upper portioninflow type comprises a principal axis 2, a wastewater inflow tube 3, areturning sludge inflow tube 4, a retentive portion 5, an outflow tube6, an outflow device 7 and a sludge condensing device 8. The wastewaterinflow tube 3, the returning sludge inflow tube 4, the retentive portion5 and the outflow tube 6 are distributed in the direction from the lowerportion to the upper portion of the anaerobic reactor 1, which isdifferent from the upper portion inject type described above.

[0023] The wastewater inflow tube 3 and the returning sludge inflow tube4 are installed onto the outer and lower portion of the anaerobicreactor 1 in order to introduce the wastewater and the returning sludgeto the anaerobic reactor 1 respectively. The wastewater inflow tube 3and the returning sludge inflow tube 4 can be injected to the inside ofthe anaerobic reactor 1 independently as depicted in FIG. 5a, but theyalso can be combined to form one tube in the outside of the anaerobicreactor 1 and be injected to the retentive portion 5 in a mixed state(not depicted).

[0024] Next, the retentive portion 5, through which the wastewater andthe returning sludge pass, is connected directly to the wastewaterinflow tube 3 and the returning sludge inflow tube 4. The retentiveportion 5 is installed onto the contact region of the anaerobic reactor1 case and the lower portion of the principal axis 2. The retentiveportion 5 has an associated structure (See FIG. 5b). The lower part ofthe retentive portion 5 is fixed onto the case of the anaerobic reactor1 and the upper part of the retentive portion is fixed onto theprincipal axis 2. The inside of the retentive portion 5 should beseparated from the outside of the retentive portion 5 (preventing liquidfrom passing). Preferably, the contact region formed in between thelower part of the retentive portion 5 and the upper part of theretentive part 5 has a mechanically-sealed bearing structure for therotation, since the upper part of the retentive portion 5—the principalaxis 2 should rotate freely against the lower portion of the retentivepart 5—the anaerobic reactor 1 case which are fixed.

[0025] The outflow tube 6 is connected directly to the upper part of theretentive portion 5 and placed on the lower part within the anaerobicreactor 1, which can make the inflow water and the returning sludgepassing through the retentive portion 5 injected to the lower partwithin the anaerobic reactor 1. The inflow water and the returningsludge are discharged through a porous tube (having a pore pierced onthe tube) or a nozzle which is installed in a surface of the outflowtube 6.

[0026] In the functions and compositions, the principal axis 2, theoutflow device 7 and the sludge condensing device 8 are same with thoseof the upper portion inflow type and the retentive portion 5 and theoutflow tube 6 are also same with those of the upper portion inflow typeso that the principal axis 2 is installed and fixed to rotate together.

[0027] As another type of an anaerobic reactor 1 in the lower portioninflow type, the present invention provides an anaerobic reactor 1 whichadopts a mode that the inflow water and the returning sludge are notblended and are discharged to the lower part within the reactorindependently. The present invention will be described more clearly,referring to FIG. 6a and FIG. 6b.

[0028] In this type, the wastewater inflow tube 3 and the returningsludge inflow tube 4 which can inject the wastewater and the returningsludge respectively are installed onto the outer and upper part of theanaerobic reactor 1 independently. In addition, the wastewater retentiveportion 5 a passing the wastewater and the sludge retentive portion 5 bpassing the returning sludge are installed and separated spatially andthe wastewater outflow tube 6 a, 6 discharging the wastewater isconnected directly to the wastewater retentive portion 5 a. The sludgeoutflow tube 6 b, 6 discharging the returning sludge are connected tothe sludge retentive portion 5 b respectively.

[0029] On the other hand, the wastewater inflow tube 3 and the returningsludge inflow tube 4 are fixed on the reactor not to be moved orrotated, but the wastewater retentive portion 5 a and the sludgeretentive portion 5 b should rotate with the principal axis 2. For thispurpose, as depicted in FIG. 6b each retentive portion 5 become astructure associated with the lower retentive portion 5 fixed on theanaerobic reactor 1 case and the upper retentive portion 5 fixed on theprincipal axis 2. Between the wastewater retentive portion 5 a and thesludge retentive portion 5 b, one should be included to the otherportion preferably. Due to the same reasons with the first type of thelower portion inflow type, preferably, the contact region of the lowerretentive portion 5—the upper retentive portion 5 has amechanically-sealed bearing structure for the rotation.

[0030] In the functions and compositions, the principal axis 2, theoutflow device 7 and the sludge condensing device 8 are same as theupper portion inflow type and the retentive portion 5 and the outflowtube 6 are also same as the upper portion inflow type so that theprincipal axis 2 is installed and fixed to rotate together.

[0031] In the anaerobic reactor 1 having the said functions andstructures, the porous tube formed on the outflow tube 6 has a diameterpreventing the block phenomenon by sludge preferably. In addition, whenthe outflow tube 6 rotates together according to the rotation of theprincipal axis 2. As the distance of the porous type become nearer tothe rotational axis, the time period that each porous tube stays at thespecific position on the horizontal surface on which the outflow tube 6rotates become longer. Therefore, in order to make the dischargingdistribution of the wastewater and the returning sludge uniform, thenearer to the rotation axis, the wider the distance between the poroustubes distributed or the smaller the diameter of the porous tube formedpreferably. Depending upon the size of the reactor, the kinds of inflowwater for the treatment and the like, preferably the distance betweenporous tubes is in the range of 20˜2 m and the diameter of the poroustube is in the range of 21 mm˜150 mm.

[0032] The porous tube can be installed on any position such as a bottomsurface, an upper surface and a lateral portion of the outflow tube 6.Preferably, in case that the porous tube is installed on the bottomsurface, various shapes of nozzle are installed right under the poroustube in order to distribute the wastewater or the returning sludgeeasily (See FIG. 7).

[0033] The single or multiple outflow tube 6 can be installed, dependingupon the scale and the structure of the anaerobic reactor 1. Preferably,in case that the diameter of the reactor is in the range of 6˜10 m, fouroutflow tubes 6 (in case that the inflow water and the sludge aredischarged in a mixed state) or four wastewater outflow tubes 6 a andthe sludge outflow tube 6 b (in case that the inflow water and thesludge are discharged in a separated state) respectively are installedat 90° C. of angle from the horizontal surface. In the latter case, theinstallation heights of the wastewater outflow tube 6 a and the sludgeoutflow tube 6 b are preferable to become different. If the outflowtubes 6 are installed with less than four, they generate the biased flowand if with more than four, the apparatus become complicated andincreases the cost to be installed.

[0034] If the diameter of the anaerobic reactor 1 becomes more than 8 m,the inflow water and the sludge cannot be discharged uniformly inbetween the portion adjacent to the rotational axis and its outerportion, although the porous tube formed onto the outflow tube 6 isadjusted for the distance and/or the diameter. In this case, the outflowtube 6 for the portion adjacent to the rotational axis and the outflowtube 6 for the outer portion are separated and installed so that thebiased flow of the inflow water and the sludge can be reducedefficiently (not depicted).

[0035] In the anaerobic reactor 1 of the present invention, the mixingdevice 40 which shakes reaction water continuously can be installed,which purifies organic wastewater containing indecomposable and toxicsubstances and nutritive substances (N, P) within the anaerobic reactor1, since it prevents the biased flow of sludge and proceeds thefermentation reaction actively by microorganisms. In this case, themixing device 40, with 3˜6 devices per a reactor, is installed in aninterval of about 50 cm˜1 m from the principal axis 2 of the anaerobicreactor 1. The sludge precipitated from the reaction with the mixingdevice 40 is collected in the lower center of the anaerobic reactor 1through the sludge condensing device 8 and discharged to the outside ofthe reactor by a driving force of the sludge discharging pump.

[0036] Hereinafter, among the upflow anaerobic reactor 1 of the presentinvention, the second upper portion inflow type anaerobic reactor 1 isapplied to the apparatus for treating wastewater and will be explainedclearly about the operation and effects. The structure of the apparatusfor treating wastewater is depicted in FIG. 8.

[0037] As an example, the apparatus for treating wastewater includes theaerobic reactor 20 and the final precipitate tank 30 in addition to theupflow anaerobic reactor 1. At this moment, the aerobic reactor 20includes an acid radical tube 31 as an oxygen generator in the bottompart of the aerobic reactor 20 in order to provide oxygen sufficientlyso that it makes air-permeable fermenting bacteria become active. Forthe aerobic reactor 20, any conventional material and structure known tothose skilled in the art can be adopted. Besides, the final precipitatetank 30 is utilized to remove sludge which is degraded efficiently byusing the aerated microorganisms within the reaction water of theaerobic reactor 20. Preferably, the precipitate tank 30 in a gravitymode is utilized to remove the sludge slowly by exploiting thegravitational force so that the wastewater is cleaned and purified.Besides, the precipitated sludge is collected in the sludge condensingdevice 8, returned to the sludge retentive portion 5 b passing throughthe returning sludge inflow tube 4 installed onto the outer and upperportion of the anaerobic reactor 1 by using the sludge returning pump 32and then discharged into the anaerobic reactor 1 through the sludgeoutflow tube 6 b, 6. The wastewater is transferred to the wastewaterretentive portion 5 a passing through the wastewater inflow tube 3installed onto the outer and upper portion of the anaerobic reactor 1and then discharged to the bottom portion of the anaerobic reactor 1through the wastewater outflow tube 6 a, 6. At this moment, thewastewater and the returning sludge are discharged from the bottomportion horizontal surface uniformly since the wastewater outflow tube 6a, 6 and the sludge outflow tube 6 b, 6 rotate in a determined speed.The sludge decomposed efficiently within the anaerobic reactor 1 isprecipitated in the bottom surface of the anaerobic reactor 1 by thegravity and then the sludge is separated and discharged through thesludge outflow pump 33. In the process of the reaction, the reactionwater in which organic substances and toxic substances are decomposedand removed is injected to the aerobic reactor 20 through the outflowdevice 7. Meanwhile, the anaerobic reactor 1 provides a driving forcewhich shakes the mixing device 40 connected with the principal axis 2within the aerobic reactor 1 since the driving apparatus is installed inthe upper portion end of the principal axis 2.

[0038] Hereinafter, the process for treating wastewater by exploitingthe upflow anaerobic reactor 1 will be illustrated in accordance witheach stage clearly (See FIG. 8).

[0039] Stage 1: Inflow of Inflow Water to Anaerobic Reactor

[0040] The inflow water such as organic wastewater includingindecomposable and toxic substances and nutritive substances (N, P) isinjected into the anaerobic reactor 1 through the wastewater inflow tube3 installed on the outer and upper part of the anaerobic reactor 1, thewastewater retentive portion 5 a and the wastewater outflow tube 6 a, 6.

[0041] Stage 2: Fermentation in Anaerobic Reactor

[0042] In order to purify inflow water containing indecomposable andtoxic substances and nutritious substances and injected to the anaerobicreactor in the previous stages efficiently, the activated sludge isintroduced to the anaerobic reactor 1 through the returning sludgeinflow tube 4 installed on the outer and upper portion of the anaerobicreactor 1, the sludge retentive portion 5 b, and the sludge outflow tube6 b, 6. Then, the sufficient fermentation is induced by repeatedlystirring the mixing device 40 installed on the principal axis within thereactor in the range of 3˜20 rpm (Sometimes, the mixing device 40 can beomitted in case that reaction water is mixed by the outflow tube 6itself).

[0043] In the meantime, in order to purify organic wastewater moreefficiently which includes indecomposable and toxic substances ornutritive substances such as nitrogen or phosphorus and heavy metals(not depicted), the anaerobic reactor 1 of the present invention can beinstalled plurally in a series. In this case, reaction water firstlyfermented in the anaerobic reactor 1 installed in the front side istransferred to the wastewater inflow tube 3 of the anaerobic reactor 1installed in the rear. Thereafter, the returning sludge includingpartial sludge of the aerobic reactor 20 which is inner-circulated bythe inner rotation pump is injected to the anaerobic reactor 1 installedin the rear side and is secondly fermented with preventing an upwarddrift of sludge in a proper condition (the mixing device 40 is operated,if necessary). This stirring prevents a blocking circuit phenomenon ofinflowing mixtures resulted from a high concentration of sludge when thesludge in the anaerobic tank 1 and an organic wastewater mixtureincrease by performing the above reaction.

[0044] At this moment, preferably the rotational speed of the mixingdevice 40 or the outflow tube 6 is in the range of 3˜10 m/min at acircumference speed based on a circle drawn by an outer block of themixing device 40 or the outflow tube 6. When the circumference speed isunder 3 m/min, the blocking circuit phenomenon disturbs a sufficientreaction. When the circumference speed is above 10 m/min, the merit of apressing-out type reactor cannot be fully considered since it is mixedcompletely.

[0045] Stage 3: Outflow Into Aerobic Reactor

[0046] Some sludge precipitated through the previous procedure iscollected to the sludge condensing device 8 installed on the bottomcenter of the anaerobic reactor 1 and discharged by the driving force ofthe sludge discharging pump 33. The reaction water including some upwardsludge is discharged from the anaerobic reactor 1 to the aerobic reactor20 through the outflow device 7 placed in the upper portion of theanaerobic reactor 1.

[0047] Stage 4: Aeration in Aerobic Reactor

[0048] Oxygen is supplied sufficiently to reaction water including somesludge discharged from the anaerobic reactor 1 in the previous procedurethrough the acid radical tube 31. Consequently, organic substances andthe like within wastewater are oxidized, decomposed and purified intoinorganic substances such as H₂O, CO₂ or so on to activate aerobic orpermeable bacteria in the sludge highly. Ammonia nitrogen and organicnitrogen are changed to nitric nitrogen and the sludge takes phosphorusexcessively.

[0049] Stage 5: Separation of Pure Water and Return of Sludge

[0050] Pure water is separated from the reaction water partiallypurified in the previous aeration process and moved to the finalprecipitation tank 30. The sludge precipitated by the gravity iscollected on the sludge condensing device 8 placed in the bottom centerof the anaerobic reactor 1, returned into the anaerobic reactor 1through the returning sludge inflow tube 4 placed on the outer and upperportion of the anaerobic reactor 1 by using the driving force of thesludge return pump 32 and exhausted to outside through the sludgereducer of the sludge digestion tank or the dehydrator using the drivingforce of the sludge outflow pump 33 in the anaerobic reactor 1.

[0051] As described above, some microbes such as Nitrosomonas,Nitrobacter, Denitrifier, Sulfate reducing bacteria, Pseudomonas,Achromobacter, Aerhobacter, Micrococcus, Bacillus, Proteus,Flavobacterium, Acinetobacter, Corynebacterium or Mycobacterium can beapplied to the anaerobic reactor 1 or the aerobic reactor 20 in themethod for treating wastewater in accordance with the present invention.In addition, some permeable microbes also can be used in accordance withthe sorts of organic substances included in wastewater.

[0052] As illustrated above, the apparatus for treating wastewater ofthe present invention including the anaerobic reactor 1, which treatsorganic wastewater including indecomposable and toxic substances andnutritive substances by using permeable microbes and the upflowanaerobic reactor, can treat wastewater more efficiently than theconventional apparatus for treating wastewater.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0053] The above and other objects, features and other advantages of thepresent invention will be more clearly understood from the followingdetailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanyingdrawings, in which;

[0054]FIG. 1a depicts a schematic diagram of the first embodiment in theconventional apparatus;

[0055]FIG. 1b depicts a planar view of the inflow device in theconventional apparatus schematically;

[0056]FIG. 2a depicts an schematic view of the upward inflow typereactor in which wastewater and returning sludge are injected with acombined mode in the present invention;

[0057]FIG. 2b depicts another schematic view of the upward inflow typereactor in which wastewater and returning sludge are injected with acombined mode in the present invention;

[0058]FIG. 3a depicts an schematic view of the upward inflow typereactor in which wastewater and returning sludge are injected with aseparated mode in the present invention;

[0059]FIG. 3b depicts another schematic view of the upward inflow typereactor in which wastewater and returning sludge are injected with aseparated mode in the present invention;

[0060]FIG. 4 depicts an schematic diagram of an example in the retentiveportion and the outflow tube applied to FIG. 3a;

[0061]FIG. 5a depicts an schematic diagram of the downward inflow typereactor in which wastewater and returning sludge are injected with acombined mode in the present invention;

[0062]FIG. 5b depicts a partial schematic view of the retentive portionapplied to FIG. 5a;

[0063]FIG. 6a depicts an schematic view of the downward inflow typereactor in which wastewater and returning sludge are injected with aseparated mode in the present invention;

[0064]FIG. 6b depicts a partial schematic view of the retentive portionapplied to FIG. 6a;

[0065]FIG. 7 depicts an example of the nozzles of the present invention;

[0066]FIG. 8 depicts the structure in the apparatus for treatingwastewater including the anaerobic reactor of the present invention.

[0067]FIG. 9a and FIG. 9b depicts the result of hydraulic experiments inthe present invention.

EXPLANATION OF SYMBOLS IN THE FIGURES

[0068]1: anaerobic reactor

[0069]2: principal axis

[0070]3: wastewater inflow tube

[0071]4: returning sludge inflow tube

[0072]5: retentive portion

[0073]5 a: wastewater retentive portion

[0074]5 b: sludge retentive portion

[0075]6: outflow tube

[0076]6 a: wastewater outflow tube

[0077]6 b: sludge outflow tube

[0078]7: outflow device

[0079]8: sludge condensing device

[0080]20: aerobic reactor

[0081]30: precipitate tank

[0082]31: acid radical tube

[0083]32 sludge returning pump

[0084]33: sludge discharging pump

[0085]40: mixing device

[0086] Practical and presently preferred embodiments of the presentinvention are illustrative as based on the hydraulic experiments andexamples. The hydraulic experiments have estimated hydrauliccharacteristics of the upflow anaerobic reactor in the presentinvention. Preferred Embodiments relates to a management of waster waterby using the apparatus for treating wastewater including the upflowanaerobic reactor 1 in the present invention (See FIG. 8). Hydraulicexperiments and examples will explain only the effect of the presentinvention, and it will be appreciated that those skilled in the art, onconsideration of this disclosure, may make modifications andimprovements within the scope of the present invention.

[0087] Examination of Hydraulic Characteristics in Anaerobic Reactor

[0088] In order to elucidate hydraulic characteristics of the upflowanaerobic reactor 1, experiments were performed. The mixing device 40which had a size of 8 cm in width and 2 cm in length was equipped with 3layers in the anaerobic reactor 1 which had a size of 9 cm in diameterand 30 cm in height.

[0089] In order to measure the degree of dispersion according to theoperation of the reactor 1, the water solution with 500 ppm of chlorideion concentration was put into the reactor 1 through 2 thin hosesinstalled in 5 cm of height from the bottom of the reactor 1 without aninjection of returning sludge. Tips of the hoses (corresponding to thenozzle of the reactor 1 practically) were apart from the principal axisby 4 cm and 1.5 cm respectively. Chloride ion solution was injected tomake the retentive period of the hoses reach 1 and 3 hours respectively.

[0090] The rotations of the mixing device 40 were varied to 0, 3, 5, 10rpm respectively. The rotational values such as 0, 3, 5, 10 rpm wereequal to circumference speeds such as 0.00, 0.75, 1.25, 2.51 m/minrespectively.

[0091] In the graphs, as time passed the changes of concentrations inthe outflow water were illustrated based on the retentive time. Thechloride ion concentration of the inflow water is regarded as C0, thechloride ion concentration of the outflow water is regarded C and thetime in which the chloride ion concentrations of the inflow water isidentical to that of and of the outflow water is regarded as T0. FIG. 9aand FIG. 9b represented the results in 1 and 3 hours of the retentivetime respectively.

[0092] As illustrated in figures, in case that the retentive time was 1hour without blending, chlorine ion was started to be detected graduallyin the outflow water after 1 hour and the concentration of chloride ionreached C0 after 1 hour and 20 minutes. Then, in case that the mixingintensity was 3 rpm, chlorine ion was started to be detected in theoutflow water after 55 minutes and the concentration of chlorine ionreached C0 after 1 hour and 15 minutes. Meanwhile, in case that themixing intensity was 5 rpm, chloride ion was started to be detectedafter 30 minutes and the concentration of chlorine ion reached C0 after1 and half hours. In case that the mixing intensity was 10 rpm, chlorideion was started to be detected after 5 minutes from the injection andthe concentration of chloride ion reached to C0 after 1 and half hours.

[0093] In case that the retentive period was 3 hours and the mixingintensity was 3 rpm, chloride ion was started to be detected after 3hours and the concentration of C0 was detected in the outflow waterwithin 10 minutes. However, in case that the mixing intensity was 3 rpm,chloride ion was started to be detected after 25 minutes and itsconcentration became identical to the concentration of the inflow waterafter 4 hours. Furthermore, in case that the mixing intensity was 5 rpm,chloride ion was started to be detected after 30 minutes and in casethat the mixing intensity was 10 rpm after 15 minutes became similar toa perfect mixing form.

[0094] As considered the above results, in case that the mixing densitywas 0 and 3 rpm, the ideal plug flow was approached and in case that themixing density was 5 and 10 rpm, the perfect mixing form was achieved.

[0095] Preferred Embodiments

[0096] (1) Standard of Pilot Plant System

[0097] 1) The first type of the present invention, in which wastewaterand the returning sludge were introduced to the retentive portion placedon the upper portion of the principal axis and were distributed as amixed state, was applied as an anaerobic reactor. The concrete structureand standard of the anaerobic reactor were demonstrated in Table 1 asfollowed.

[0098] 2) The aerobic reactor: 2.0 m in width, 3.0 m in length, 5.5 m inheight, 26 m³ in effective capacity.

[0099] 3) The precipitate tank: 2.4 m in diameter, 3.0 m in length, 11m³ in effective capacity. TABLE 1 standard diameter 2.4 m, height 5.5 mcapacity 23 m³ 2 outflow tubes diameter 100 mm, diameter of a circleformed by a rotation, 2.3 m distance from center of each nozzle to 3nozzles for each the principal axis 64, 90, 110 cm. outflow tubediameter of a nozzle 80 mm height from bottom to a nozzle 1 m width 50cm, length 2.3 m 3 mixing devicees placed high from the bottom by 2, 3,4 m respectively

[0100] Biological oxygen demand (BOD), chemical oxygen demand (COD),total suspended substance (TSS), total nitrogen concentration (TN) andtotal phosphorus concentration (TP) of the concentrations of the inflowwater and the outflow water were measured total 7 times with a 7 dayinterval after the apparatus for treating wastewater became stabilized.Concretely, these results of the measurement were illustrated in Table 2and each treatment efficiency and average efficiency was shown in Table3. TABLE 2 BOD COD TSS TN TP Test 1 Inflow Water 220.7 120 250 33.125.28 Outflow Water 7.95 12 11 10.56 0.96 Test 2 Inflow Water 219.5 121260 33.5 6.1 Outflow Water 7.85 11.5 10 9.8 0.75 Test 3 Inflow Water217.8 123 250 32.16 6.24 Outflow Water 7.83 11.7 10 9.12 0.48 Test 4Inflow Water 199.8 116 220 37.9 6.72 Outflow Water 6.96 11 6 10.1 0.5Test 5 Inflow Water 278 143 350 35 4.32 Outflow Water 7.22 11 8 10.6 0.1Test 6 Inflow Water 260 105 23 37 4.32 Outflow Water 7.52 11 10 7.7 0.29Test 7 Inflow Water 157.2 109 267 34.1 2.88 Outflow Water 6.96 10.5 76.24 0.06

[0101] TABLE 3 BOD COD TSS TN TP Test 1 96.4 90.0 95.6 68.1 81.8 Test 296.4 90.5 96.2 70.7 87.7 Test 3 96.4 90.5 96.0 71.6 92.3 Test 4 96.590.5 97.3 73.4 92.6 Test 5 97.4 92.3 97.8 69.7 97.7 Test 6 97.1 89.556.5 79.2 93.3 Test 7 95.6 90.4 97.4 81.7 97.9 Average 96.5 90.5 91.073.5 97.9

[0102] As demonstrated above, while the BOD concentration of the inflowwater was changed from 157.2 to 278.0 mg/L, the BOD concentration of theoutflow water was treated by more than 96% on the average and varied inthe range of 7.0˜8.0 mg/L. The nitrogen concentration of the inflowwater was changed from the range of 33.1˜37.9 mg/L to the range of6.2˜10.6 mg/L in the outflow water and treated by more than 70%. Thephosphorus concentration of the outflow water was changed from the rangeof 2.9˜6.7 mg/L to the range of 0.1˜0.9 mg/L in the outflow water andstably treated by more than 90%.

[0103] After the apparatus for treating wastewater was stabilized, theconcentration of sludge within the anaerobic reactor 1 and the aerobicreactor 20 and the concentration of the returning sludge and thedischarging sludge were measured and demonstrated in Table 4. TABLE 4discharging anaerobic aerobic returning sludge reactor reactor sludgeconcentration 25800 6280 4450 7490 (mg/L) ˜38000 ˜8900 ˜6570 ˜9830

[0104] In the apparatus of the present invention for treating wastewaterincluding the anaerobic reactor 1, the highly concentrated sludge wasdischarged from the anaerobic reactor 1. Especially, it is confirmedthat the concentration of sludge is very high when the aerobic reactor20 and the anaerobic reactor 1 were operated.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY

[0105] As described and confirmed above, the present invention providesthe upflow anaerobic reactor 1 which can be applied to a system fortreating wastewater. The anaerobic reactor 1 of the present inventioncan be utilized to treat indecomposable and toxic substances or organicwastewater including nutritive substances such as nitrogen or phosphorusand heavy metals biologically in the industrial facilities for treatingwastewater. Furthermore, wastewater can be managed economically sincethe sludge of the reactor is maintained in the high concentration andthe volume can be reduced to less than the volumes of other biologicalreactors. Especially, since the sludge of the upflow anaerobic reactor 1is concentrated highly, the concentration tank could be omitted for thesewage treatment plant. The first precipitate tank 30 also cansubstitute for the reactor and therefore saves the plant space andreduces both the construction cost and the operational costadditionally.

What is claimed is:
 1. An upflow anaerobic reactor 1 for applying to an apparatus for treating wastewater which comprises: a principal axis 2 which is formed vertically in the center of the anaerobic reactor 1 and rotates in accordance with a driving force transferred from a driving means; a wastewater inflow tube 3 and a returning sludge inflow tube 4 which are installed in an outer and upper portion of the anaerobic reactor 1 and through which the wastewater and returning sludge are injected respectively; a retentive portion 5 which is installed and fixed on the upper circumference of the principal axis 2 so as to rotate with the principal axis 2 and through which the wastewater and the returning sludge introduced from the ends of the wastewater inflow tube 3 and the returning sludge inflow tube 4 pass; a single or multiple outflow tubes 6 which are installed and fixed on the principal axis 2 so as to rotate with the principal axis 2 and have one end connected with the retentive portion 5 directly and the other end installed in an inner and lower portion of the anaerobic reactor 1 and equipped with a porous tube which discharges a mixture of wastewater and returning sludge; an outflow device 7 which is installed on an upper portion of the anaerobic reactor 1 in order to discharge reaction water including some sludge into the aerobic reactor 20 and has a ware structure; and, a sludge condensing device 8 which is installed on a bottom part of the anaerobic reactor 1 and treats the sludge precipitated in the center of the anaerobic reactor 1 by using a gravitational force;
 2. The upflow anaerobic reactor 1 according to claim 1, which comprises additionally a mixing device 40 installed on the principal axis 2 in a uniform interval.
 3. An upflow anaerobic reactor 1, for applying to an apparatus for treating wastewater which comprises: a principal axis 2 which is formed vertically in the center of the anaerobic reactor 1 and rotates in accordance with a driving force transferred from a driving means; a wastewater inflow tube 3 and a returning sludge inflow tube 4 which are installed in an outer and upper portion of the anaerobic reactor 1 and through which wastewater and returning sludge are injected respectively; a wastewater retentive portion 5 a which is installed and fixed on the upper circumference of the principal axis 2 so as to rotate with the principal axis 2 and through which the wastewater introduced from the end of the wastewater inflow tube 3 passes; a sludge retentive portion 5 b which is installed and fixed on the upper circumference of the principal axis 2 so as to rotate with the principal axis 2 and through which the returning sludge introduced from the end of the returning sludge inflow tube 4 passes; a single or multiple outflow tubes 6 a, 6 which are installed and fixed on the principal axis 2 so as to rotate with the principal axis 2 and have one end connected to the wastewater retentive portion 5 a directly and the other end installed in an inner and lower portion of the anaerobic reactor 1 and equipped with a porous tube discharging wastewater; a single or multiple outflow tubes 6 b, 6 which are installed and fixed on the principal axis 2 so as to rotate with the principal axis 2 and have one end connected to the retentive portion 5 directly and the other end installed in an inner and lower portion of the anaerobic reactor 1 and equipped with a porous tube discharging returning sludge; an outflow device 7 which is installed on an upper portion of the anaerobic reactor 1 in order to discharge reaction water including some sludge into the aerobic reactor 20 and has a ware structure; and, a sludge condensing device 8 which is installed on a lower portion of the anaerobic reactor 1 and treats the sludge precipitated in the center of the anaerobic reactor 1 by using a gravitational force;
 4. The upflow anaerobic reactor 1 according to claim 3, which comprises additionally a mixing device 40 installed on the principal axis 2 in a uniform interval.
 5. An upflow anaerobic reactor 1, for applying to an apparatus for treating wastewater which comprises: a principal axis 2 which is formed vertically in the center of the anaerobic reactor 1 and rotates in accordance with a driving force transferred from a driving means; a wastewater inflow tube 3 and a returning sludge inflow tube 4 which are installed in an outer and lower portion of the anaerobic reactor 1 and through which wastewater and returning sludge are injected respectively; a retentive portion 5 which is installed and fixed on the lower circumference of the principal axis 2 so as to rotate with the principal axis 2 and through which the wastewater and the returning sludge introduced pass since the wastewater inflow tube 3 and the returning sludge inflow tube 4 are connected directly; a single or multiple outflow tubes 6 which are installed and fixed on the principal axis 2 so as to rotate with the principal axis 2 and have one end connected to the retentive portion 5 directly and the other end installed in an inner and lower portion of the anaerobic reactor 1 and equipped with a porous tube which discharges a mixture of wastewater and returning sludge; an outflow device 7 which is installed on an upper portion of the anaerobic reactor 1 in order to discharge reaction water including some sludge into the aerobic reactor 20 and has a ware structure; and, a sludge condensing device 8 which is installed on a lower portion of the anaerobic reactor 1 and treats the sludge precipitated on the central lower portion of the anaerobic reactor 1 by using a gravitational force;
 6. The upflow anaerobic reactor 1 according to claim 5, which comprises additionally a mixing device 40 installed on the principal axis 2 in a uniform interval.
 7. An upflow anaerobic reactor 1, for applying to an apparatus for treating wastewater which comprises: a principal axis 2 which is formed vertically in the center of the anaerobic reactor 1 and rotates in accordance with a driving force transferred from a driving means; a wastewater inflow tube 3 and a returning sludge inflow tube 4 which are installed in an outer and lower portion of the anaerobic reactor 1 and through which wastewater and returning sludge are injected respectively; a wastewater retentive portion 5 a which is installed and fixed on the lower circumference of the principal axis 2 so as to rotate with the principal axis 2 and through which the introduced wastewater and pass since the wastewater inflow tube 3 is connected to wastewater retentive portion directly; a sludge retentive portion 5 b which is installed and fixed on the lower circumference of the principal axis 2 so as to rotate with the principal axis 2 and through which the introduced returning sludge pass since the returning sludge inflow tube 4 is connected directly to the sludge retentive portion; a single or multiple wastewater outflow tubes 6 a, 6 which are installed and fixed on the principal axis 2 so as to rotate with the principal axis 2 and have one end connected to the wastewater retentive portion 5 a directly and the other end installed in the inner and lower portion of the anaerobic reactor 1 and equipped with a porous tube discharging wastewater; a single or multiple sludge outflow tubes 6 b, 6 which are installed and fixed on the principal axis 2 so as to rotate with the principal axis 2 and have one end connected to the retentive portion 5 directly and the other end installed in the inner and lower portion of the anaerobic reactor 1 and equipped with a porous tube discharging the returning sludge; an outflow device 7 which is installed on an upper portion of the anaerobic reactor 1 in order to discharge reaction water including some sludge into the aerobic reactor 20 and has a ware structure; and, a sludge condensing device 8 which is installed on the lower portion of the anaerobic reactor 1 and treats the sludge precipitated in the central lower portion of the anaerobic reactor 1 by using a gravitational force;
 8. The upflow anaerobic reactor 1 according to claim 7, which comprises additionally a mixing device 40 installed on the principal axis 2 in a uniform interval. 